Lower Cholesterol With the Foods You Eat

So you want to eat your way to lower cholesterol.  Well the good news is that you can do just that.  If you eat the right foods you can actually lower your cholesterol.  So let's get eating!

But before we begin eating I need to tell you up front that you also need to do some exercising too.  Putting food into your mouth is a little bit of an exercise but not quite enough.  So get up off that couch and do some walking if you can.  You'll feel better for it.

Of course as everyone knows exercise and diet are the main elements to being healthy.  As they say, "You are what you eat".  And what you eat may help you lower your cholesterol levels.

Just to let you know we want to lower the "bad" cholesterol which is known as LDL and not the "good" cholesterol known as HDL.  This good cholesterol can actually help carry cholesterol out of your blood vessels and not allow it to become deposited on your artery walls.

First let's get through the foods you should not eat. Stay away from foods with trans fats like shortening, margarine and processed foods that may contain partially hydrogenated soybean oil.  Skip the bologna, salami and the hot dogs and hold the mayonnaise.

Look for salad dressings that that do not contain trans fats and cholesterol.  Olive oil is good and lemon juice and vinegar are also.  Skip the croutons, bacon bits and egg yolks.  Avoid fast foods like french fries and other foods cooked a deep fryer.

Limit desserts and the ones you do eat choose from some that are a little healthier like angel food cake, fat-free frozen yogurt and maybe some graham crackers.

Put some lean turkey on multi-grain bread with lots of veggies. Eat some foods that are high in fiber like some cereals, oatmeal, beans, fruits and vegetables.

Eat food that is high in Omega-3 fatty acids which is good fat like wild red salmon.  Flax seed is also a good source of Omega-3.

And if you eat meat eat lean meat cooked on the grill whenever possible to avoid as much grease as you can.

And you can go nuts, literally!  Walnuts are good but you can eat some almonds, cashews, macadamia and pecans.  Be sure if you eat peanut butter use the natural kind and not the regular stuff you usually see that contains trans fat.

So now you know what you can eat to help lower your cholesterol.  But the main thing to remember is, don't eat too much!